Hook, Line & Sink Her
by chumbeer
Summary: It's safe to say that giving Umi detention is one of the worst decisions Kotori has ever made in her life. Teacher/Student AU
1. Chapter 1

"Please understand, Minami-san, we're doing our best with her... but with her parents being distinguished alumni and her grandfather making generous financial contributions to the school, there's not much we can do."

Kotori frowns, visibly displeased. "You don't want me to give her detention," she says plainly, and it comes out more as a statement than a question. The principal breathes out an imperceptible sigh of relief, thinking Kotori understands after all, but the teacher continues, "Sonoda-san fractured the girl's wrist! This happened because Sonoda-san _intended_ to hurt her!"

"We've tried to expel her, honestly," the principal professes tiredly, and Kotori is almost convinced, "but if you look past her... violent tendencies, Sonoda-san is one of the highest achieving students in our school. She's been captain of the archery team for the two years she's been here, leading them to victory at Nationals each time. Not to mention she ranks consistently in the top three for academics..."

The principal takes one look at the expression on Kotori's face and knows she has already lost. In a final effort to stop whatever her teacher plans on doing, she starts, "Look, I know you're new here, but I don't think this is a good idea—"

She's cut off by the harsh screech of Kotori's chair being forced back. "Sonoda-san will be serving detention with me from four to six tomorrow afternoon. Please excuse me."

* * *

"Run that by me again?" Maki grins and leans forward intently.

"I said," Umi grits out, slapping a palm to Maki's forehead and pushing her back, "that I got detention."

Despite being a year younger, Umi considers Maki one of her closest friends. The majority of girls in her year level are only interested in pursuing something romantic with her, and while it comes with as many benefits as it has drawbacks, Umi tends to keep her distance. It helps that she's known Maki since she was a child, too.

"Who?"

"Minami-sensei."

"And what—"

"Why are you so nosy today?" Umi grumbles, fiddling with the straw in her milkshake. Maki is rather miffed.

The bell of the diner signals the arrival of a new customer, as does the owner's loud and enthusiastic greeting. Honkytonk was originally a small bakery, but the large volume of Otonokizaka students passing through had Honoka renovating her family's old store into a popular high school hangout. Umi doesn't normally like to loiter at the busy joints, but she's been a regular customer since the bakery was around, and Honoka's approach to making friends is nothing but tenacious and unrelenting. If it wasn't for Honoka, she doesn't think she would have lingered.

Umi feels the seat of the booth sink next to her, and there's no time to ponder until a strong arm is placed around her shoulders and pulls her in for a side-hug. "Umi, Maki!" Eli beams. She is genuinely excited to see them and Umi can feel herself smiling, but Eli ruins it with the onset of a grin followed by, "Heard you've got detention, Umi?"

She shrugs off Eli's arm and takes a long sip from her milkshake, brooding. "I was trying to prove a point," she argues.

Maki snorts. "You don't have to break bones to do that."

"Who got her?"

"Minami-sensei."

Umi is totally unprepared for the slap on the back Eli gives her and chokes on her milkshake. "Oops, my bad," Eli apologizes, not sounding the least bit sorry. "Look on the bright side, though," Eli continues cheerfully, "at least it's Minami-sensei you'll be looking at for two hours. She's easy on the eyes, you know?"

"And you have a girlfriend, you know?" Umi counters.

Eli holds her hands up defensively. "Nozomi is the best, really! Just because I'm with her doesn't mean I can't evaluate the physical attractiveness of another person, though."

"I think I'll be the judge of that."

Nozomi sidles into the seat next to Maki and ruffles her hair affectionately. "Aw, Maki-chan! It's been too long!"

Maki attempts to swat Nozomi's hands away. "Cut it out." Done antagonizing Maki, Nozomi rests her elbows on the table and rests her chin on clasped hands, her gaze steady and all traces of playfulness gone. "Now what were you saying about Minami-sensei, Eli-chi?"

"Wait, Nozomi, listen—" Eli rambles on unintelligibly, making over exaggerated hand motions to help Nozomi understand, and completely oblivious to her girlfriend's teasing grin.

Umi looks across at Maki whose exasperated expression mirrors her own.

"Oh, speaking of Minami-sensei," Nozomi says suddenly, directing her attention to Umi, "I heard she gave you detention?"

Umi lets her face hit the table.

* * *

When Kotori arrives at five to four the next afternoon, she doesn't expect Umi to be there already. If it weren't for her student smoking outside the open windowsill, she wouldn't have placed her as a delinquent student at all: Umi's uniform is neatly pressed and her general appearance is immaculate.

"It's against the rules to be smoking inside, Sonoda-san."

Umi looks over her shoulder briefly. "That's why I'm smoking outside the windowsill."

Kotori frowns, placing the papers she plans on grading down as she passes the desk. She pulls the end of the cigarette out of Umi's mouth with two fingers, dropping it on the floor to stub it out with the heel of her shoe.

Umi does nothing to stop her.

* * *

At half-past four, Umi lights another cigarette and moves to stand beside the windowsill. Kotori goes to pluck the cigarette and stub it out a second time, but not before Umi blows a lungful of smoke into her face.

Umi smirks faintly as she watches her teacher turn around calmly and return to the desk, grading papers while occasionally tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear.

 _She's pretty_ , Umi thinks.

* * *

At five o'clock, Umi runs out of cigarettes.

* * *

Over the next forty-five minutes, Umi has memorized every nick and groove in the surface of the desk.

"Sensei, why am I staying until six? The other teachers only keep students until five thirty," Umi asks coolly. "It's also Friday afternoon - don't you have some place to be? Out on the town, perhaps?"

Kotori refuses to react to her student's taunt and instead chooses to feign ignorance. It's Friday afternoon, she's tired, and Umi gets under her skin more than she'd like to admit. "I'm not like the other teachers."

"You're right about that," Umi comments, getting up from her desk. Kotori looks up at the sound of her student's approaching footsteps, who takes advantage of the situation to tilt her head up with a thumb and forefinger.

Kotori's penetrating gaze is enough to make Umi shiver slightly... but she perseveres, hoping it didn't show.

"You're pretty," Umi murmurs over Kotori's lightly ragged breathing. "Do you date?"

"That's none of your concern." Kotori brushes Umi's fingers away with the back of her hand, her breathing returning to normal. She stands up to gather her papers and says evenly, "You can go now, Sonoda-san. See you in class tomorrow."

Umi watches as her teacher slides the door shut. She glances at the clock on the wall and grins when she realizes there's still ten minutes left until six.


	2. Chapter 2

Honoka swears she locked her front door, but it doesn't matter because Eli is visibly excited and Maki is concerned which means they are _up to no good_ , so she can't turn them away and have them trouble someone else. She ceases working and sizes them up suspiciously; the lighting in the diner is dimmer than during opening hours, casting shadows over the faces of her visitors. Honoka feels the tension rising with each second the silence extends, and the thought hits her all at once—she's got it! She know why they're here, and it should have been so obvious in the first place...

"Is Nozomi pregnant?" Honoka blurts out.

"Wha—!?" Eli sputters, pausing to glower at Maki's huff of laughter before continuing, "Are you crazy? What the hell gave you that idea!?"

Confused, Honoka says, "Because! Eli-chan only ever gets excited when it involves Nozomi-chan, and Maki-chan looks concerned, so..."

"Maki _always_ looks concerned," Eli deadpans.

Maki scowls, jabbing Eli in the ribs with her elbow. "Then stop doing stupid shit. Speaking of which," she says to Honoka, jerking a thumb in Eli's direction, "you'll want to hear what she's got planned this time."

There's a soft clink as Honoka places the cleaned glass into the cupboard. "Sure! Hit me, Eli-chan."

"I want to set up Umi and Minami-sensei."

Honoka's eyes widen. "Eh!? You want to set up Umi-chan with Kotori-chan?"

"Kotori... chan?" Eli echoes.

Maki leans forward a bit more, suddenly interested in the conversation. "Honoka. You know Minami-sensei personally?"

"Huh? You didn't know?" Honoka asks, looking at the two girls oddly. "Kotori-chan and I have gone to the same school since kindergarten, but we're roomies now."

"What!" Eli slams down both of her hands on the countertop in an uncharacteristic slip of self-control. "Since when!?"

"Oops," Honoka laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck, "guess I didn't tell you after all. We've been in contact pretty much the entire time—she's my best friend."

"Well, this makes things a lot easier," Maki comments.

Eli breathes out what sounds like a sigh of relief and allows herself to ease back down onto the barstool. "It sure does." She's seen Minami-sensei pass through the diner to pick up coffee multiple times, so she knows Minami-sensei is acquainted with Honoka somewhat, but for them to know each this well? This is working out better than she had hoped: what better avenue to soften up Minami-sensei for Umi's arrival than her roommate and best friend?

"So?" Eli prods. "You in, Honoka?"

It's peculiar, seeing Honoka consider the proposition seriously—at best, her decision-making is spontaneous and erratic but always well intentioned. Maki's not sure if Eli sees it, but she wonders if Honoka is taking a personal gamble by getting involved with Eli's crazy matchmaking scheme.

 _She's hesitating..._

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Honoka starts slowly. "I mean, if the school finds out, it would hurt both of their reputations... more so Kotori-chan than Umi-chan. And you know Umi-chan," she continues, "she's probably just riled up because Kotori-chan gave her detention; I don't think it's because she harbours any romantic feelings for her teacher."

Maki supposes it's a reasonable excuse, and quite insightful on Honoka's part, but still...

 _What's she hiding?_

Eli is undeterred and looks Honoka straight in the eyes, and from this gesture alone Honoka knows the girl is serious. "I understand where you're coming from, but I promise this isn't just some flimsy idea to cause some drama, or to use Minami-sensei so that we can get a kick out of seeing Umi outside of her comfort zone. From what I've seen, Minami-sensei is infinitely patient and treats even the most insolent—"

"Fuckheads," Maki supplies helpfully, along with Honoka's outburst of, "Hey! Where did you learn such naughty language, Maki-chan?"

"—students," Eli corrects, eyeing Maki pointedly, "with kindness. She's a little indifferent toward Umi, though, but on top of that, she's the only person that's been able to capture Umi's attention the way she does."

Maki adds, "We're not sure if Umi's feelings are platonic or romantic, or if she's just being an idiot, but she treats Minami-sensei differently, that's for sure."

"All right, you've made your point!" Honoka says, exasperated, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'll help, but only to a degree. Kotori-chan's my friend, too, so if you're gonna do something that will hurt her, I'm calling it off."

"That's fair." Eli nods, pleased with the outcome.

"OK then, Eli-chan, what did you have in mind?" Honoka asks. "There's not much we can do aside from bringing Umi-chan to the places Kotori-chan is going to be or vice versa, I suppose... but from what you're telling me, they might make a scene fighting."

Eli grins. "Right, but we'll deal with that later. So, you know that gym Umi goes to..."

* * *

"Honoka-chan, do you know where my pink workout top is?" Kotori calls as she sifts through her closet.

Honoka pops her head around the doorframe, revealing enough of her face to appear attentive but not so much that anything potentially thrown by Kotori would hit her. "Oh! Um... the mothballs got to it, so I chucked it out." It's a poor excuse, and it shows in the quiver of her voice and Kotori's expression of disbelief, which quickly transitions into one of realisation.

"I'm guessing mothballs ruined the rest of my workout clothes, too?" Kotori doesn't mean to pose that as a question—it sounded a lot more intimidating in her head—but she sees the tip of Honoka's toes wiggling nervously underneath the fabric of her slippers so she lets it slide.

"Man! Those mothballs are persistent, aren't they...!? Don't worry, though!" Honoka cuts in before Kotori can point out all the evident flaws in her explanation, "I thought this might happen, so I bought you a really cute outfit yesterday!" She doesn't give Kotori time to argue that this wouldn't be an issue if she hadn't thrown out all of her friend's workout gear in the first place.

Kotori sighs. She's told Honoka about Sonoda-san—how her student frustrates her to the point that she's the only person in the class to be assigned detentions, how these detentions usually end with Sonoda-san emptying a pack of cigarettes and her with a perpetual cloud of cigarette smoke in her face, and ever since then Honoka's been a little restless and incredibly suspicious.

"Come on, Kotori-chan!" Honoka says hurriedly, ushering Kotori into the bathroom, "go finish getting ready—we need to leave for the gym in ten minutes!"

Kotori looks at her skeptically; if it wasn't obvious before, then it's obvious now she's being set up for something. "Honoka-chan, the world's not going to end if we're not there in ten minutes."

"Uh, yeah, I know!" Honoka laughs nervously. _Keep your cool, Honoka!_ "The sooner we finish our workout, though, the sooner I can show you the spa!"

"Spa?" Kotori's eyes light up, snatching the clothes from Honoka's hands. "That's all you needed to say!"

Honoka hears the rustle of clothes as her friend changes in the bathroom, and it's not long before she hears sounds of discontentment coming through the closed door.

"Honoka-chaaaan," Kotori whines, "these clothes are way too tight!"

Honoka slinks downstairs so that her friend doesn't hear her cheerful: "I know."

* * *

Kotori's eyes widen as the doors to the elevator open: the gym houses an elaborate weight room, various sporting facilities and, of course, an area sectioned off for the spas and massages. She turns to Honoka to gush about how incredible the place is, but she notices her friend scanning the room for something. Following Honoka's line of vision, her breath catches when she sees Umi on the bench press with enormous weights piled on the bar. The younger girl is decked out in tights and a crop top, showing off chiselled abs and lean muscles.

 _Sonoda-san is really strong_ , Kotori thinks, tracing the contour of her student's muscles. _She must work out a lot..._

Honoka observes Kotori's reaction with great amusement. _Eli-chan and Maki-chan might be on to something here_. "If I had to guess," Honoka teases, "I'd say you were checking out Umi-chan."

"I'm not checking her out," Kotori protests half-heartedly. "She's my student," she adds, as if admitting it excuses her actions. She's too busy rotating between feeling embarrassed and goggling Umi's lithe form on the bench press that she misses the way Honoka calls Umi's name so familiarly.

Honoka snickers. "Then why are you staring at her?"

"I... don't... know..." Kotori breathes, watching intently as Umi finishes her set, sitting up on the bench to wipe her face with a towel. She fails to notice Honoka leaving her for a treadmill, and starts to panic when she sees Umi making her way over to her. _OK, time to go_ —

"Are you stalking me now, sensei?" It's only when Kotori has to look up to meet Umi's eyes does she realise that her student stands about half a head taller than her—it's not so much intimidating as it is captivating, especially now that Kotori knows what lies beneath the uniform.

"No," she replies defensively, crossing her arms, "I was just..."

"You were watching me, weren't you?" she notes coolly. Umi's only taking a guess, but with the way her teacher's shifting uncomfortably, she knows she's spot on. "Well, was it a good enough show?"

"Hoenstly? I think you might need to work on these," Kotori remarks, poking a finger into her student's firm stomach. _Focusfocusfocus!_ she thinks desperately.

Umi frowns, confused as to why that comment stings a little. "If it was that awful a sight, why were you staring at me for five minutes?"

"Please," Kotori says, waving a dismissive hand, "it was more like five seconds. Maybe if you attended maths class more often, you would be able to accurately gauge lengths of time, Sonoda-san."

Before the girl can respond, Kotori walks away as quickly as her dignity allows. She finds Honoka in the cardio room and attempts to drag her off, but to great resistance.

"All right, all right, I'm getting off!" Honoka pants, frantically pushing buttons to slow the treadmill down. "Sheesh, Kotori-chan, what's gotten into you?"

"I want to go to the spa."

"Eh? You haven't even exercised yet!"

"It's all right, my heart rate's already really high."

Honoka laughs, placing both of her hands on Kotori's back and steering her toward the spa.


	3. Chapter 3

There's better things Umi could be doing on a Monday afternoon than showing up for detention, but when her teacher walks through the door, more than slightly pissed off with her, she doesn't think it's such a loss after all: it's always a good day when Minami-sensei is having a bad one.

"Do you enjoy being insolent, Sonoda-san? Or are you just doing this to annoy me?"

She's been shelling Umi with more detentions recently, and a lot of that has to do with the other teachers not having the spine to do it themselves. It's a pretty good trade-off— although babysitting Umi on her own for two hours leaves her feeling emotionally drained, trying to impose ethical ideals on her student who, for the most part, is fairly unresponsive, keeps her in favour with the other staff members.

Umi scoffs. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but if you weren't so unreasonable and giving me all these detentions in the first place, we wouldn't be having this problem."

Kotori looks at her student incredulously. "I'm surprised you can say that so confidently," she comments, moving to sit herself behind the desk. "Your behaviour is atrocious."

"Really," Umi remarks casually. She strolls over to her teacher's desk, not at all discrete with her manoeuvre, but Kotori refuses to look up and continues working. Without warning, Umi slams both of her palms on the desk, and is satisfied when she sees her teacher flinch. "Then we have something in common. Wouldn't ogling your students also constitute atrocious behaviour?"

Honestly, she's pretty mortified by her behaviour at the gym, and even if she tries to argue her case she'll come out a loser either way. Electing to ignore the question, she responds evenly, "You're here for unexplainable absences from class and indecent displays of affection with other female students."

Her teacher's attempt to deflect her question isn't subtle at all, but she doesn't push the issue any further. "What's that thing you like to say... right— _it's none of your concern_."

"It _is_ when your actions are the cause of uncharacteristically low grades throughout the school."

"Isn't that more of a reflection on the teacher?"

Kotori places her pen on the desk, the tranquillity of the action betraying the confusion and frustration lying beneath. She's rather intuitive, but when it comes to her student she can't quite figure Umi out. Sure, Umi's behaviour is offensive at the best of times, but otherwise her dress and bearing is impeccable; she smokes more packs of cigarettes than there are hours in a day, but still manages to keep herself in good shape. Her character is forged from contradictions, defence mechanisms that prevent her from succeeding. Even if Kotori achieves nothing this year, she hopes she can at least reach out to Umi.

"Yes," Kotori admits freely. At her student's expression of disbelief, she presses on, "But teaching and learning is a two way street. If you keep putting up roadblocks, I can't help you—"

"Help me?" Umi cuts in, her voice low. "Humour me, sensei. What is it that I need to work on?"

"Don't patronize me," Kotori says, insulted. "You _know_ your behaviour is inappropriate, yet you continue to act so! Your family's generous contributions to the school are not an excuse to act like an impudent child."

"So that's what you think of me." It's spoken so quietly that Kotori almost misses it.

"What?"

"To you, I am an impudent child."

"Am I wrong?"

"No, but tell me – would an impudent child do this?"

She's not sure what she expected her student to do, but she definitely did not anticipate Umi to kiss her.

There's only a light touch before Kotori has the sense to shove Umi away violently.

"Get out," she seethes, her voice trembling with barely restrained anger.

A flurry of emotions skims over Umi's face, but it's bewilderment that settles itself down, and Kotori doesn't have a damn clue why because Umi was the one to take the plunge. She doesn't have a chance to say anything before her student wordlessly slings her messenger bag over her shoulder and slams the door extra hard on her way out.

––

"I'm home!" Kotori calls out, exhausted. The door closes behind her, and with it her teaching persona. The heels come off first, then the jacket; she undoes the top couple of buttons on her blouse and, energy spent, allows herself to fall back on the couch. A pillow tumbles down and covers her face, but Kotori makes no attempt to remove it.

"Welcome back," Honoka says warmly, lifting the pillow from Kotori's face and keeping it suspended in the air. "I brought food."

Kotori grumbles incoherently.

Smiling fondly, Honoka lets out a breath of laughter and gently sets the plate of food down on the table. She lifts both of Kotori's legs and rests them on her lap once she's settled herself into the sofa.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," the teacher answers dimly, draping an arm over her face to replace the pillow that her friend discarded. In doing so, she misses Honoka's playful grin as hands skim down her legs.

"Sorry, Kotori-chan," Honoka says cheerfully, "but you didn't really leave me with much of a choice."

Honoka manages to elicit an undignified squeal from her friend as she tickles the soles of her feet. "Wait, Honoka-chan—!" Kotori continues to thrash around for a stretch longer until she clocks Honoka in the face with her foot.

"Whoa," Honoka grunts, waving off Kotori's flustered apologies, "that was solid. Do you practice on your students or something?"

Kotori giggles. "I wish. There's one student who I would have liked to do have done that to on more than once occasion."

Honoka nods her head encouragingly. "Uh huh, and who's that?"

Kotori sits up, smoothing out her wrinkled clothes. "Her name is Sonoda Umi," she sighs. "She's a very capable student, but she goes out of her way to antagonize me... and it's so frustrating because she does it so well!"

"Yep, sounds like a very capable student if she's getting under your skin that much," Honoka quips good-naturedly. Kotori deflates. "It's all right though, I believe in you!" she reassures, patting her friend's knee.

There's not much she can give in the way of advice—anything specific would expose the true nature of her relationship with Umi—and with it Eli's plan of giving Umi and Kotori their happy ending. She's heard things from Eli and Maki about the interactions between teacher and student (and on occasion she'll hear things from Nozomi too, but she just soaks it in because that girl's ability to extract drama from the most trivial of incidents knows no bounds), and she voices out loud her surprise at how volatile their synergy appears to be.

Kotori crosses her arms and puffs out her cheeks. "It's not my fault she's rude and obnoxious," she protests.

"You're pretty hard to stir up, though," Honoka comments, giving Kotori's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, "and even then you're pretty level-headed. Why does she upset you so much?"

It's something Honoka's genuinely curious about herself—how can a younger girl that Kotori's just met evoke so much more emotion in her than her own best friend? Umi's generous with her verbal abuse and blatant show of disrespect, but where in the past she would have withdrawn and bowed out, Kotori's beginning to oppose her student with equal vigour. It's a positive change in Kotori's somewhat demure personality, but Honoka wishes her friend showed that same kind of intensity when she was with her.

"I don't know," Kotori says shortly, and it's not entirely a lie. _Maybe because she kissed me_ , she doesn't add.

Honoka taps her finger on her chin, pretending to deconstruct the complexity that is Sonoda Umi... or that's what everyone seems to think. The girl's just a spoiled brat, really, though it's beyond her how Umi still comes off as endearing. "Maybe you should try being more assertive? Sometimes those kinds of students just need some tough love, you know?"

She's not so sure about that – she's been trying, and unfortunately her student seems to thrive on it. Maybe she needs to be a little tougher and a lot less loving, because she hates the taste of smoke on her mouth.


	4. Chapter 4

"Stop smiling. It's creepy."

Umi's smile fades promptly. "Why can't you just be happy for me, Maki?"

Maki shrugs, unaffected by the playful accusation. "Because your happiness depends on how miserable someone is."

"Lately that seems to be the only thing I'm good at." Umi's tone is indifferent, but the sudden tension in her friend's shoulders suggests to Maki that she's hit a nerve she's not even sure Umi knows she has. Her friend may be a neurotic troublemaker, but she's also got a moral code that she stands by... though it seems an exception is made for Minami-sensei.

Umi makes a lot of exceptions for Minami-sensei.

"Yep. The best in the business, I'd say."

"Not helping, Maki."

At the tinkle of the diner's bell, Maki goes from faintly interested to completely engrossed when she witnesses Minami-sensei walk in and stride over to the front counter. She can't hear the conversation she has with Honoka from where she sits, but she carefully watches their exchange with the focused precision only a future medical practitioner would have. Umi might have liked to know that her favourite teacher (which she furiously denies) was here, but for some reason, Maki stays silent.

"Maki. Is that Minami-sensei?"

Rats, too late. Umi's caught her staring.

"Could be," she says flippantly, observing the woman as she ties up her friendly conversation with Honoka before collecting her coffee and taking to the street.

Umi spins back in her side of the booth so that Maki can see her face, contemplative. "They seem to know each other really well."

"Honkytonk _is_ the closest eating establishment from school," Maki replies drily, but Umi is doubtful. "Why do you care, anyway?"

Frowning, Umi says hesitantly, "Minami-sensei has never mentioned Honoka."

Maki exhales audibly, blowing strands of hair from her face. "Didn't realize you were both good friends now... or is this about Minami-sensei being happy?" she prods further. "You're only happy if she's miserable, right?"

"Why does my happiness depend so much on how miserable she is?" Umi asks. She can't help the irritation that evolves, but it doesn't escalate because she understands that Maki can always back up anything she says, even if happens to be a vicious criticism about a close friend.

She understands, because Maki is always there when she needs her most. And Eli, to some degree, but with Nozomi's influence she's become the type of friend who jumps into the fray before she asks questions. It's an amusing development, Umi thinks.

"I don't know. Why does it?" Maki twirls her hair around her finger; coupled with the wolfish grin it's her personal gesture of victory, and despite her earlier praises Umi wishes she had left enough of her milkshake to pour over Maki's head.

She's never thought about it before - her happiness stems from the good things that happen around her, which definitely have nothing to do with Minami-sensei. Umi's certain of it.

When Minami-sensei tells her not to smoke, she likes to light up a durry and blow the waste into her teacher's face when she tries to remove the cigarette from her mouth; when she passes Minami-sensei in the hallway, she likes to maintain prolonged eye contact so that her teacher hurries past uncomfortably; when she and Minami-sensei are alone, she likes to make inappropriate comments about her teacher's personal life followed by unsuccessful attempts to wrangle a date; and when Minami-sensei gives her detention, she goes out of her way to make sure her teacher is just as miserable -

She stops to ponder this thought, but instantly shakes it off when Maki tells her to stop smiling already, damn it.

* * *

Monday comes around quicker than Kotori would have liked. She's got the first two periods spare, but it's little comfort when Umi is in her class for fifth period.

It's almost the end of fifth period now, and Umi still hasn't shown up to sit at the desk that she has obnoxiously positioned right in front of Kotori's own. Umi's desk belongs in the back far right corner, but being closer to the front, she claims, is more conducive to learning. Kotori knows it's so Umi can count how many times she flinches when her student runs a foot up her stocking clad legs.

Kotori has to move the desk back at the end of each period she has the misfortune of taking Umi for, but when Friday arrives without incident, Umi's desk has not moved.

* * *

"Ah! Umi-chan!" Rin salutes the younger girl playfully. "No school today?"

Umi sets herself down on a barstool at the counter, waving a hand dismissively. "Not for me."

"Hey," Rin whispers, leaning in closer to Umi so she can hear, "if you don't go to school, you'll end up like Honoka-chan."

"Eeeehhh!?" Honoka whines, popping her head from out of the kitchen. "You're getting a pay cut, Rin-chan!" she quips good-naturedly.

Playing along with the cheap skit, Rin gets on her knees to beg. "No, please! I need the money to look after my wife and daughter!"

"Rin-chan, since when have we had a daughter?"

The timer for the oven sounds in sync with the bell of the diner, so Honoka excuses herself politely.

She whips her head up at the voice of the new visitor and laughs nervously, though not at all surprised to see who it is. Hanayo likes to come visit her on her lunch break, anyway. "Ehe he... well, Umi-chan is like a child, don't you think? She's doesn't follow rules, doesn't take responsibility for her actions and throws tantrums when things don't go her way," Rin says thoughtlessly, counting down on her fingers with each trait she lists.

Umi hates being likened to a child, but she could never be angry with Rin because the woman has always been so good to her. She smiles carelessly. "Good morning, Koizumi-sensei. Am I in trouble?" She knows she is... she also knows that her teacher won't do anything about it.

Her teacher takes one of the barstools next to her. "Of course you are," she says pleasantly, and Umi appreciates the absence of derision in her tone, "but there's nothing I can do about it, is there?" And this is why Koizumi-sensei is Umi's favourite teacher: she cares, but she's not intrusive and doesn't ask too many questions. The fact that she doesn't assign Umi detentions is an added bonus.

She shrugs, grabbing a crisp from the bowl Rin's placed on the counter.

"There is someone that _can_ , though," Hanayo comments cheerfully. She giggles when Umi snaps the chip in half, the errant crumbs tumbling down the front of the girl's shirt. "It's nice to see you making the effort to go to detention now, but all of them seem to be Minami-sensei's." The colour drains out of Umi's face as she dramatically wails, "I thought you liked me best, Umi-chan!"

"No way, no way!" Rin cuts in, waving her arms wildly while simultaneously ignoring Hanayo's pleas to put the meat cleaver down. She vaults over the counter and wraps a protective arm around Hanayo, pointing the knife at Umi threateningly. "Kayo-chin is mine!"

Reappearing from the kitchen, Honoka asks curiously, "Who does Umi-chan like best?"

"Minami-sensei," Rin and Hanayo respond without hesitation.

"Oh ho, you filthy scoundrel!" Honoka doubles over in laughter at the scandalized look on Umi's face; Rin joins her, as does Hanayo's soft giggles.

When she recomposes herself somewhat, Honoka reaches out across the counter and gives Umi a solid pat on the shoulder. "Come on, don't make that face, Umi-chan! I already know what happened."

Umi's face darkens. "Was it Maki? Or was it Eli?"

Shrugging, Honoka says, "Could have been either of them, but I hear it from all the girls that come in here crying about how you've got your heart set on someone else now."

"That someone needed to learn a lesson."

Honoka snorts, not bothering to disguise her incredulity. "And you don't?" It's hard to convince Umi to go to school, but these days the younger girl goes almost willingly. It makes Honoka wonder if something really is going on, despite Umi's vehement denials. "Go on, get going. Milkshakes on the house if you turn up to school today!"

Umi goes without a fight, and it's not because of the free milkshakes.

* * *

Monday rolls around again, and Kotori's already hanging out for the weekend. She doesn't think the day can get any worse, but then the classroom door creaks and Umi sweeps through, all confidence and cocksureness.

The papers that are placed on Kotori's desk are answers to the maths assignment she handed out two weeks ago. "This was due today, right?"

Kotori doesn't confirm nor deny her student's query and puts Umi's papers on the tall stack of papers she is yet to grade. Sighing softly, she asks, "Do you have any plans tomorrow, Sonoda-san?"

Her teacher is oddly calm despite their hostile confrontation not long ago. Minami-sensei appearing to be not so miserable makes Umi equal parts glad and wanting to do something to make it so she is; her teacher's composure is disconcerting.

"None," Umi says smoothly. "I intended on spending it with you."

"Good, because I'm running you in for unacceptable behaviour and insubordination. I expect to see you here at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

Everything was going so well, too... but when their routine of verbal abuse starts, she can't help herself. "I could have you removed, you know."

Kotori doesn't back down, narrowing her eyes at the deliberate threat. "I could always find another job," – at this, Umi feels a little anxious – "but while I'm here, I won't make exceptions for you just because the other teachers do."

" _I_ do."

"Oh my, I feel so privileged." Kotori isn't usually one for cynicism, but this girl has a knack for making her do things she doesn't want to do, it seems. "Children need to learn to be accountable for their actions."

"Did one kiss not satisfy you, sensei?" Minami-sensei is not Rin, and she makes her resentment clear. "I can give you another, if you like."

Kotori stands up, jostling her papers to hide the rapid pulse of her heartbeat. Although it was her natural reflex to shove Umi away the first time it happened, she couldn't deny the tingling in her chest and the fire in her gut afterwards.

It was... exciting, to say the least, but she's not ever going to tell anyone that.

With her back to Umi, she advises carefully, "Don't try me, Sonoda-san. See you tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

Eli wakes to the sound of sizzling bacon and Nozomi belting out the lyrics to popular eighties music. Nozomi think it's extraordinary - because her girlfriend can find sleep in minutes, even when she arranges the blinds precisely to maximise the amount of light that comes through them - the way Eli sprints into the kitchen, loudly wishing her a good morning before she can sing the chorus to any Whitney Houston song.

Strong arms encircle her waist from behind, and she leans back into the familiar embrace.

"Yum, rice porridge!"

Nozomi swats Eli's arm playfully. "Hey, my cooking isn't _that_ bad."

Eli rests her chin on Nozomi's shoulder, watching contentedly as she expertly flips the eggs in the frying pan. Being members of the Student Council, the times they get to be alone are few and far between, and so they exist in companionable silence, basking in the warmth of the morning sun as it streams in through the glass sliding doors. Between the both of them, these moments are an unspoken indulgence.

The apartment's intercom buzzes and Eli groans, burying her face into the crook of Nozomi's neck. She grudgingly drags her feet to the door only when Nozomi threatens to serve her runny eggs for breakfast.

She hates runny eggs.

"Maki? Is everything all right?"

"I'm hungry," she says simply, showing herself in.

Eli deflates. She gave up Nozomi time for this. "That's it?"

"What do you mean, that's it?" Maki retorts, mildly offended. "If untreated, hunger leads to starvation which can ultimately result in—"

"—death, yes, you smartass." Eli sighs, closing the door behind her junior. "So?" she continues, drawing herself a chair at the kitchen table. "What else are you here for?"

"Can't I come over for a good feed? Nozomi's cooking is excellent," she says, raising her glass of orange juice to make a toast to Nozomi.

"Why, thank you, Maki-chan! Elichi, take notes, won't you?"

"Should have let you starve," Eli grumbles.

Maki smiles slightly, giving Nozomi a nod of thanks as the older girl slides a plate of food in front of her.

"There's something I want to discuss with you, though."

In a short space of time Eli has managed a few mouthfuls of her breakfast and has become decidedly more agreeable, so Maki continues, "I don't think the gym tactic worked out very well."

Eli bobs her head up and down, both in reply to Maki's statement and Nozomi's fantastic cooking. She shows her appreciation by gently squeezing Nozomi's hand when her girlfriend joins them at the table.

"Yeah, Honoka was right. They just seem to fight whenever they're together, don't they? Even with her help, setting them up is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"Maybe you're trying too hard," Nozomi edges in, eyes twinkling. "Sometimes you just have to let things happen, you know?" There's knowing looks on all their faces, pairs of eyes darting between each other to gauge a reaction before the three of them burst into laughter.

They certainly do know.

Last year, Otonokizaki was set to close, with Maki's cohort to be the last to ever graduate from the school. Their open campus was fast approaching while enrolments were dropping at an alarmingly similar rate. Eli was ready to kill someone - very possibly herself - and Nozomi was cryptic and overall unhelpful... or so she thought at the time.

She can't recall who roped her into doing a performance of a Korean boy band cover with Umi and Maki, but the idea had Nozomi's name stamped all over it. Eli's never going to live it down, because her admirers at school will never let her forget it. They don't know the hard work that she and the Student Council had put in behind the scenes, but they know the performance, and in the end that's apparently all that mattered. Suffice to say, that sole performance prevented Otonokizaka from being shut down.

"Absolutely not," Maki says, suddenly serious. "I refuse to go through that humiliation again."

Nozomi wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. "And why not, Maki-chan? Minami-sensei might be turned on by girls posing as Korean boy bands."

Maki crosses her arms, scowling fiercely. "Then Umi can do a solo performance."

Silence follows her suggestion, and then she sees the sparkle in Nozomi's eyes. "Nozomi, no - Eli -"

Eli's hand falls on Maki's shoulder and grips it firmly. "That is a great idea, Maki."

Maki slumps, defeated. _I'm sorry, Umi._

* * *

"Eli-chan?"

Eli looks up. "Oh, Minami-sensei!" She hurriedly clears away the papers scattered across the table in the Student Council room. "Please, come in! What can I do for you?"

Kotori steps into the room cautiously, a quick scan of the room revealing the presence of the one person she had hoped to avoid. There's nothing she can do, she reasons; Eli and Umi are friends, after all.

"I wanted to clear up a few things about the upcoming school festival," she explains, ignoring the intensity of Umi's stare.

"Of course, I - Umi, where are you going?" Eli asks as her friend gets up to leave.

"I need to take care of a few things," she replies, lifting a hand in farewell. "See you later, Eli- _chan_."

The Student Council President feels heat climbing up her neck and she tries to fight it down desperately lest anyone sees - especially Minami-sensei, who's only seen her cool and confident side. She'd like that impression to stick for a while.

Neither of the two occupants seem to be paying her any attention, though. As Umi brushes past Kotori they make eye contact, and Eli can feel the tension rolling off them in waves. The atmosphere stills when the echoes of Umi's footsteps can no longer be heard.

She notices Kotori trembling slightly.

"Minami-sensei, are you all right?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine," she says, waving off Eli's concerns. "Now, about the school festival..."

* * *

Kotori sits down to grade papers, preparing to wait out another two hours with her least favourite student. The detentions have not helped Umi's attitude in the slightest, and doubt is beginning to set in. At the start of the year she was so sure of herself, but now that confidence has whittled down to disappointment and frustration.

Umi slides open the door. She says nothing to Kotori, instead reaching into her pocket and making a beeline for the window.

They stay like this for a while, Kotori grading papers and Umi taking long drags from her cigarette. While the silence is a welcome change from their usual bout of verbal abuse, Kotori would almost prefer to be insulted. She knows how to deal with it, to give as much as she gets, but this brooding? She's not sure how to handle it.

Umi drops her arm to stub out her durry, but pauses when she notices an ash tray on the window sill. She frowns. This is an unused classroom, and so the only person that could have put that there was Minami-sensei. She curses her teacher's thoughtfulness, and out of courtesy places the cigarette into the ash tray rather than dropping it on the floor as she normally would.

Kotori notices, not even trying to stop the smile forming on her face.

Turning around, Umi says casually, " _Eli-chan_ , huh? I thought you said you didn't date." Of course, she knows Eli and Kotori aren't really doing anything scandalous (because then she'd probably be helping Nozomi dispose of a body), but something ticks her off about the way Minami-sensei addresses her friend so familiarly.

"I don't," she asserts calmly. "I also said it was none of your concern."

"That's where you're wrong," Umi counters. "Eli's my friend, and as a friend, I have a vested interest in her happiness."

"So then because we're not friends, does that mean you'll be miserable if I'm happy?"

"Why would I be miserable?"

"Because you don't like seeing me happy."

"No... I don't like seeing you happy with other people."

Kotori is stunned by her student's straightforwardness. The declaration is so candid, so honest, that she doesn't know what to do. Her life has always been very predictable, very safe, very _boring_ ; she'd always thought she would find a nice man to settle down and have a family with, to do what she was expected to do... and while it would be presumptuous of her to say that she was romantically interested in her student, she can't deny the attraction.

For the first time she can remember, she goes out on a limb and takes a risk.

"Then why don't you try and make me happy?" Kotori ventures, unable to stop the trembling in her voice.

Umi's eyes widen. This is not how she expected it to pan out; it's unchartered territory, and she's not prepared to trek out into it just yet. She feels as if she's in free fall. Umi's not sure what it means, or how to control it and so she runs from it. Rattled, she frantically slings her book bag over her shoulder with unsteady hands and says hastily, "I need to go, sensei. You can give me detention later."

The door slides shut.

* * *

It's just before midnight when Honoka returns to the apartment. The whole place is dark, but she shrugs it off - Kotori usually gets back earlier than her and must have already turned in for the night. Flipping on the kitchen light, she's surprised to find a note taped to the fridge door.

 _I'm staying with my mom this weekend._

 _See you on Monday._

 _Love, Kotori_

Honoka's not stupid. As much as Kotori tries to hide it, she knows Umi's been giving her a hard time at the school. Her best friend must have been pretty shaken from this incident if she felt the need to go home, but she knows Umi is probably not faring much better.

She hopes Eli and Maki know what they're doing with this matchmaking operation that they they've got going on. All she sees is Umi and Kotori hurting, and Honoka's not sure if she can stand to see it go on for much longer.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm home," Kotori calls out tiredly, dropping her duffle bag in the entry way with a dull thud. It's late Sunday evening by the time Kotori gets back to the apartment she shares with Honoka, so the orange blur that engulfs her catches her off guard.

"Welcome back!" Honoka says energetically, nuzzling into the crook of Kotori's neck. She gives her best friend one last squeeze and pulls back, tracing the lines of tension in Kotori's face. "Is everything OK? I was really worried when I read the note you left."

"I'm fine... give me another hug," she demands, already in Honoka's embrace. Kotori appears unwilling to move from the entry way but Honoka doesn't mind, continuing to rub soothing circles on Kotori's back.

"Do you think anyone will miss me if I call in sick tomorrow?" Kotori asks, her voice muffled.

"Everyone will miss you," Honoka says seriously. Kotori giggles, and Honoka can feel the vibrations it generates through the fabric of her sweater. "Honestly though," Honoka starts again, pausing mid-query to drop off Kotori's bag in her room, "do you need me to kick someone's ass?"

"Honoka-chan!" Kotori laughs, and in that moment, she realises it was virtually useless going home. Honoka-therapy is just as effective. There'll be no ass kicking, though, unless it's Honoka's - her friend isn't very gifted in the martial arts. She flicks the light on in the kitchen and floats over to the cabinets to pick out hot cocoa powder and a bottle of rum.

"Rum!" Honoka exclaims in disbelief. "And instant hot chocolate!? No no no!" She shakes her head furiously and ushers Kotori into a seat at the counter. "Come on, if you're _that_ upset, lemme make you one from scratch. It'll taste a whole lot better than your alcoholic concoction, I promise."

Leaning on her elbow for support, Kotori drops her chin to the palm of her hand and lets herself be coddled. She doesn't like to ask for it, but Honoka can tell and does so generously. "You're the best."

Honoka puffs out her chest proudly from where she's melting chocolate at the stove. "I know," she says smugly. She divvies the hot beverage into two mugs and sets them both on the counter, sliding one across to her friend. Kotori clutches the mug with both hands, delighting in the warmth that spreads throughout her entire body.

"OK, favour for a favour!"

"I haven't even had a sip yet!"

"Well, hurry up and have a sip then."

Leaning back into the bar stool, Kotori pushes her mug back across the counter and crosses her arms stubbornly. "What's this all about?"

Frustrated, Honoka rolls her head back and sighs noisily. She takes a deep breath, and makes an effort to calm herself down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go off at you. It's just - I know I've asked before, but is everything _really_ going OK at school? You've been super stressed."

Gratitude and guilt settles on Kotori's slumped shoulders. Honoka has always been her pillar of friendship and support, even now, almost twenty years later. She hasn't been the greatest friend, stupidly treating her encounters with Umi as some hushed up love affair and refusing to confide in Honoka like she's never done. She tries to reason that it's because she tends to act like a senseless ditz in front of her student, but it's shot down by her rational side. Out of the both of them, Honoka has definitely seen her at her worst.

If Kotori were honest with herself, the weekend away didn't help her sort things out at all, only providing the perfect environment for her to replay and psychoanalyse the events of the last few weeks. She's gotten nowhere trying to figure things out for herself, and despite the sensitive nature of the topic, if she ever had a problem before she and Honoka always managed to get through it together.

Kotori gives in. "How much do you know?"

"Only that Sonoda-san's your favourite student," Honoka snickers. "Whoa - hey!" She hops back from the bench, avoiding Kotori's attempts to pinch her. "This is intel straight from Rin-chan!" Kotori still looks unimpressed. Shrugging, Honoka admits, "OK, so maybe she's not the most reliable source... but can you blame me? No one tells me anything!"

"I'm sorry, Honoka-chan, but it's been difficult to talk about this to anyone."

Confused, her friend asks, "Why? No offence, Kotori-chan, but Sonoda-san shows that brand of disrespect to everybody - it's not just you."

"I know _that,"_ Kotori retorts, and she feels a little less special, "but it's not _just_ that." A tad nervous, she continues, "Is she ever, you know... flirty?"

"Flirty?" Honoka repeats, not understanding. " _Flirty?_ " Kotori nearly slaps her mug of hot chocolate to the floor when Honoka bursts out into laughter. "Is she ever! Wow, have you _seen_ the girls mooning over her when she walks into the diner? All it takes from her is a, "You're pretty. Do you date?" and - bam! - she's got that girl eating out the palm of her hand."

 _You're pretty. Do you date?_

Kotori feels like a fool.

She's been played.

Umi didn't run away because she was afraid of the consequences of their obvious attraction to each other, she was afraid of _commitment_. Kotori didn't even factor into the equation. At this point, she's not sure if she's mad at Umi or mad at herself, for ever believing that someone would pay attention to her. If she's learned anything from this, it's that she's got a damned good imagination.

"Do you believe in love, Honoka-chan?"

Honoka jerks. "E-Eeehhh? Um, sure, I guess so." She's sorry she ever asked to have this conversation with Kotori, because the longer it goes on the more Kotori wilts and fades away. In an attempt to lighten the mood, she says, "I mean, I'm in love with Krispy Kreme donuts."

To their surprise, laughter bubbles naturally from Kotori at the ridiculous concept. Suddenly feeling tired, she drains the rest of her hot chocolate, wrapping Honoka in a tight hug and leaving a kiss on her friend's cheek before retiring to bed for the night.

Honoka watches her go, smiling sadly. She believes in love, but it doesn't always have a happy ending.

* * *

Kotori leaves Honoka with red marks from closed fists and bruises from well-aimed kicks to the shins, but even so, Honoka has still made her go to school this morning. She's cried enough last night over the ignorant actions of one person to last her until the day she turns forty, but at the sacrifice of sleep she's made peace with herself.

In response to Umi's persevering delinquency she has been patient; sympathetic; inordinately kind. She's taken a risk, and at the end of it, Umi's let her take the fall alone and she doesn't think she's felt more humiliated in her life. How was she ever attracted to Umi? _Was_ she? Or perhaps it was purely physical? It doesn't matter now. Her frustration with the whole situation has been building since they first met, and only now when it's been balled up and translated into resentment does Kotori feel she has some semblance of control.

The bell sounds and her first class trickles in.

* * *

"Sonoda-san."

She raises an eyebrow in acknowledgement.

Minami-sensei's voice is even as she asks, "Please give me your answer for question three."

"I don't have an answer, sensei," Umi replies, unfazed.

"Is there a good reason for that?"

"Probably not."

"Good. You can finish it in detention this afternoon." Without another word, Minami-sensei resumes teaching.

That's fair. She actually forgot that homework was assigned over the weekend, but that as an excuse will get her a detention anyway.

It's their next interactions that begin to vex her; the second detention she receives is for not paying attention, the third for blatantly ignoring directions given and the most recent for continued insubordination and disrespect. All in the space of twenty-five minutes. It's highly unusual for Minami-sensei to give Umi detentions as freely as she sings praises for the other students, and she notices the rest of the class darting curious eyes between her and their teacher. Their banter is nothing new - her being a _target_ isn't new - but there's a strange tremor in the air that isn't normally there and Umi feels herself going along with it.

"Four detentions? Are you feeling lonely, sensei?"

Umi frowns at the lack of discomposure; Minami-sensei is the essence of calm. "I guess I might be, seeing as I'll be adding a fifth."

The murmurs begin, adding unnecessary tension. The hostility between student and teacher is old news, but for their arguments to spill from a private classroom to a very public one is cause for school headlines.

"You can't do that."

"Why is that? What makes you so special, Sonoda-san?"

"It's not about me, it's about you. You're still fresh meat, and I could very easily have you kicked out."

"Yes, I've heard it before. Yet here we are. So, which is it - are you a spineless coward, or do you just enjoy listening to yourself talk?"

Umi takes a deep breath to control her temper. Her automatic response to such an insult would be physical, but if she laid a hand on her teacher she knew that would be something she wouldn't ever be able to forgive herself for. "Listen, wench." Minami-sensei shoots her a withering glare at the derogatory term, and Umi feels a prickle of satisfaction. "I don't know which cesspool you crawled out from, but the upstanding folk here don't take too kindly to a vagabond on a power trip who gets her job by spreading her legs for the principal."

Minami-sensei stiffens, her scowl fierce. "Explains how you were accepted into this school, then, doesn't it? Who was it - your mother, or your father?"

Kotori regrets the words as soon as they form, and watches as emotions flick across Umi's face like a slideshow. It starts with disbelief, followed by hurt, and ends with unbridled fury.

"My parents are _dead_!" Umi roars, the abrupt rise from her seat sending her chair screeching back into the desk directly behind her.

" _THAT'S ENOUGH!_ "

In the doorway of the classroom stands the principal, with an audience of students and teachers alike extending in all directions of the hallways.

"You two. My office. _Now_."

* * *

"Completely unacceptable!" the principal says firmly. "I had much higher expectations of the both of you," they continued, pacing furiously. " _Especially_ you, Minami-sensei. You said you would be able to handle this, did you not?"

Kotori fidgets uncomfortably. "I did," she admits weakly.

"And you," they growl, jabbing a finger at Umi, who blinks owlishly at the offending digit, "are lucky you're still even here."

The principal throws both arms in the air and flops heavily into the armchair.

"At what point did you think it would be a good idea to turn your outrageous skits into a damned soap opera!?"

 _All of it_. It's missed by the principal, and muttered sarcastically under their breath at the same time. Heads snapping up, they look at each other, bewildered, and at eye contact, offer the other a tentative grin.

"As for what will happen, no administrative action will be taken. Fact of the matter is, the both of you are fantastic assets to the school when you're not together, so in allowing you to keep your places here, you will be required to attend anger management classes three times a week. That's all I have to say; I don't want to see either of your faces in here for this kind of thing again."

* * *

After being kicked out of the principal's office, they linger awkwardly in the hallway.

It's funny; the one time they agree on something, and it happens staring into the face of expulsion. While sharing nervous smiles over the principal's shrieks in the background isn't exactly an apology, they come to a soundless agreement to start over.

Kind of.

It's something they should probably discuss, but the opportunity is lost as Eli and Maki come tearing around the corner.

"Umi!" Eyes only on Umi, Eli grips her friend's shoulders tightly in what she hopes is consolation. "Look, it's all right, don't cry, we'll help you work this out! Come on, let's go to Honkytonk and Maki will buy you a milkshake. Isn't that right, Maki?"

Maki narrows her eyes. There are no tears. "She can buy her own milkshake."

"Stop. I can't."

Minami-sensei coughs lightly, her interruption alerting Umi's friends to her presence. "Go - but I had better see you for detention tomorrow afternoon."

Flustered, Eli and Maki move to greet the teacher respectfully, but Minami-sensei reassures them with a smile.

Confusion. "Sensei...?"

She turns around, waving her hand dismissively. "Better hurry, before I change my mind."

Umi follows her teacher's figure down the corridor, all the way until her view is obscured by the door to the teacher's lounge.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n:** thanks for sticking with the story, even with the sporadic updates - enjoy!

* * *

The grey sky is heavy with the promise of rain. Umi tilts her head up, only vaguely listening to Eli and Maki argue about their favourite candidates for _The Bachelorette_ , and wonders why she'd almost prefer to be in detention.

Their bickering draws to a close as they set their sights on Honkytonk and Eli, predictably, has to have the last say. "...but hypothetically speaking," she asserts, holding the door open for Umi and Maki, "if I was one of the contestants, I'd definitely be the one to win her heart." Before Eli can shut the door behind herself, the skies open up, and the sudden downpour drenches her to the bone.

Eli goes rigid, continuing to stand in the open doorway dumbly.

"Mou, Eli-chan!" Honoka scolds from behind the counter. "Close the door already, you're letting the rain in!"

She grumbles out an apology.

Rin bounds out happily from the staff room, armed with a big, fluffy towel. She flicks it over the blonde's head and begins rubbing vigorously, deliberately ignoring Eli's exclamations of "Stop, Rin!" and "I can do it myself!"

"Um, excuse me."

Eli swivels around, the towel draped over her head whipping Minami-sensei in the face.

"Oh God, Minami-sensei, I'm so sorry—"

Kotori laughs it off. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine! Are you all right, though?" She gestures to Eli's clothes that are still dripping water onto the tiled floor. "You're soaking wet!" She mistakes Eli's nervousness for being cold, and advises her student to keep warm before striding up to the counter to order a hot drink for herself and pretending not to hear what Rin says next.

Nudging the girl in the ribs, Rin taunts, "What happened that got you so wet, nya? Was it the rain, or was it Minami-sensei?"

Kotori smiles anyway. She takes her coffee with a thank you to the barista behind the bar, and waves at Honoka and Rin cheerfully before making a quiet exit.

From her periphery, Eli sees Umi's amused smirk and Honoka's grin widen, and hears Maki's snort of laughter over the snickering of other customers. Flushing with embarrassment, she scrunches the towel up into a ball angrily and flings it at Rin, fully intent on causing pain. It does no damage, only muffling Rin's boisterous laughter, so Eli retreats to the booth Umi and Maki are seated at, sulking.

"After that performance, I'm not sure you could win _anyone's_ heart," Maki comments.

"Well, that's not true," Nozomi disagrees, sliding in next to Eli to wrap her arms around her girlfriend's neck, "because she won mine." She kisses Eli chastely in greeting, and Umi and Maki react with appropriate amounts of disgust. "Hey, you make those faces now," Nozomi says, now practically in Eli's lap, "but you'll have the heart eyes for someone someday."

Maki points to herself.

"I'm talking about Umi-chan, of course! Sorry, Maki-chan, but I'm starting to think you might die alone."

Umi smiles at her apologetically, but Maki simply shrugs. "Maybe I've just got higher standards than you."

Silence settles as the statement sinks in. Unsure, Eli asks, "Did – did I just get insulted?"

"You did," Umi confirms.

"Chill out, yeesh," Honoka says, transferring hot drinks from her tray onto the table. "There's only four of you, but you make more noise than my other sixty customers!"

"It's free entertainment," Nozomi quips.

"Sure," Honoka drawls, "if that's what you want to call it. I wouldn't pay for it either way."

"So ungrateful."

Honoka huffs. "I guess I'll take these drinks back, then."

"Gimme," Nozomi demands, grabbing the back of Honoka's apron.

"Sorry, Honoka." Eli laughs, unloading the rest of the drinks from the owner's tray carefully and passing them across to Umi and Maki. "We owe you."

"Yeahhh," Honoka articulates slowly, the reluctant ticking of her brain visible to everyone, "you do, actually. And I've got just the thing you can help me out with!"

"No." "Don't wanna."

Honoka turns on Umi and Maki, a little hurt and a little amazed at their synchronization. "Figures it'd be you two punks."

"Hey now." Nozomi goes into mom mode, admonishing them lightly. "We should show a little hospitality." Next to her, an ever-supportive girlfriend nods seriously at her words. "What can we help you with?"

Honoka tucks the empty drink tray underneath her arm. Clapping her hands together and bowing low, she begs, "Please work at the festival for me!"

"Festival?" their booth echoes.

"Yep!" Honoka straightens up. "The area is hosting its second food festival, and last year we got flogged, so I could really use a couple of extra hands out there."

Honoka makes very obvious and very meaningful eye contact with Nozomi; she agrees immediately. "Sounds interesting, count us in!"

Maki groans and dramatically flops back into the booth. "Why me."

Eli catches the exchange. "Come on, princess," she teases, very noticeably wiggling her eyebrows, "it'll be worth your while."

 _Ah, so that's what this is about._ Acting bored, Maki rests her chin on the palm of her hand and looks out the window. She hopes she's turned her head quickly enough so that Umi misses the smile she's fighting. "The things I do for love."

"What on Earth are you talking about," Umi mutters. "More importantly," she says, raising her voice at Eli, "don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Eli grins stupidly. "I'll do whatever Nozomi tells me to do."

"Of course you do," she sighs. "So?" she prods, agitatedly clenching and unclenching her fist. To anyone else, this was a warning to start running – but Honoka's best and worst trait is her social unawareness. "What are we going to be doing out there, Honoka?"

Honoka's smile has brightened to the point that even the diner's lights look dim in comparison. Even so, its appearance is nothing short of wicked.

"You're gonna be grilling meat."

* * *

"One strawberry kakigori, coming right up!"

Nico drizzles strawberry syrup over the shaved ice and sticks a small plastic spoon in. "There you go, Kotori-san – on the house."

Kotori pouts, still holding out her change. "Don't do this, Nico-chan. You treated me last year, too!"

"Please," Nico says dismissively. "I'm not sure I can even repay you for everything you've done for my family."

"But—"

Nico scowls. "Seriously, how many times are you gonna make me say it? I like keeping up the tough girl act. You're making me go all soft."

Kotori still looks unsure.

"Look, if you want to pay me back _that_ much," Nico caves in, "you can tell me who all that new eye candy is."

"Eye candy?"

Seamlessly keeping up with the food preparation, Nico jerks her head. "Over there at Honoka's stall. You know 'em?"

Kotori finds Honoka first; she's at the register, her bright hair still visible underneath her white cooking hat, but it's nothing different to what she saw last year. She's confused as to why her other three co-workers appear to be in a state of undress. The smoke from the grills obscures her view somewhat, but it's easy to tell that the three figures are female. Their bodies are athletic and well-toned, but the short crop top and sleeveless vest do little to hide their other physical features.

A light breeze sweeps through, and the smoke permeating Honoka's stall clears for the briefest moment.

 _Oh God. Is that—?_

"I'll go and investigate for you," Kotori says quickly, glad for an excuse to linger outside Honoka's grilled meat stall.

Cocoa shuffles over to her older sister once Kotori has all but skipped off. "Kotori-san has it _bad_."

Nico snorts. "You got that right."

* * *

Kotori doesn't get very far in. It appears most of the school's very female population is flocking over to Honoka's stall, but not for the meat on the grill.

"All right, that's it!" Honoka yells out across the crowd. "If you're not gonna buy any meat, please step aside so I can serve the other customers!"

"But we are here to buy meat!" one of the girls responds. "How much for Maki-chan?"

"Ehhh!?"

Eli laughs heartily, soaking up the attention she's getting from the girls crowding around her food station.

Umi pats her on the back. "Well, whatever Nozomi said, it looks like you might find love after all."

"You're hilarious," Maki deadpans. "Honoka, yakitori's up!"

"Thanks, Maki-chan!" Honoka hurries over to hand out the skewers to patiently waiting customers. "I'm so sorry, you guys," Honoka says, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her sleeve, "I had no idea it was going to be this hectic! I'll try and send you out for a breather when it settles down a little."

"Now," Maki sasses, tapping her chin, "I wonder why you're so much busier this year? Is it the grilled meat, or the fact that three of Otonokizaka's most popular students wearing practically nothing are grilling the meat? Seriously, Honoka, it stumps me—"

"Maki-chan, you little brat—"

"Can I help?"

"Ah, Kotori-chan!" Honoka cries out, relieved. Sassy Maki is not a good Maki.

Umi looks up but doesn't acknowledge her, and continues to grill meat diligently. Honoka leans in so Kotori can hear her over the swell of the crowd, and partly so that Maki can't hear. "Can you cover Maki-chan for a bit? She's getting snarky."

"You want me on the grill?" Kotori asks a little apprehensively.

"Is that all right? If it makes it any better, you won't have to wear that outfit."

She's regretting offering her assistance now; she's put herself working _right next to Umi_ , and while they've been in close proximity before, it's never ended well. On top of that, they haven't really come to a resolution since that day outside the principal's office, and she's not quite sure where she stands.

Ah well, how much worse could it get?

"S-sure."

She heads over to Maki. "Nishikino-san, I'll look after this for you – go take a break."

"Minami-sensei?"

"They're selling really good shaved ice over there," she suggests, pointing at Nico's store. "I highly recommend it."

"Uh, thanks," Maki says, shooting furtive glances between Honoka and Eli. This wasn't really part of the plan, and the urgent whispering between Honoka and Minami-sensei _was_ a bit suspicious, but she'd rather not hang around for the KotoUmi drama. "I'll be off then."

Kotori sets herself up behind the grill and starts piling meat on hesitantly.

"Would you like a hand, sensei?" Umi asks nonchalantly.

She laughs nervously. "Is it that obvious I don't know what I'm doing?"

Umi smiles slightly. "A little." She goes around behind Kotori and envelops her teacher's right hand with her own. It's soft, so unlike her own which are calloused from years of archery practice. "Turn the meat over like this," she instructs, rolling Kotori's wrist over gently, "or you're going to fling it into the back of Eli's head."

She observes Eli falling behind on food prep, too busy entertaining girls from the culinary club.

"You know what," Umi grits out, hand still holding her teacher's wrist, "on second thought—" She flicks the spatula as Kotori had been doing before. Her teacher gasps as it lands square on the back of Eli's head.

"—and then—" Eli stops in mid-conversation. She turns her head to give Umi the evil eye. "Hey! What gives?"

"Can you do some work?"

"It's called customer service, Umi."

Umi huffs. "You're lucky Nozomi has to work at the shrine today."

Eli waves her off, but she flashes one last winning grin at the departing huddle of girls and sorts herself out.

Kotori looks amused. "You're a good friend, aren't you?"

"Too good," Umi retorts. "Seems like you and Honoka are good friends, too," she adds a little bitterly.

"We're childhood friends," Kotori admits readily, slightly confused by Umi's tone. "We've been best friends ever since." _Well, that explains it_ , Umi thinks, and now she feels stupid for being jealous.

It's not like they were dating, anyway. Honoka would have said something, right?

"She never mentioned you." As it's said, they both think it's a little odd that they haven't met before now, what with Honoka being a mutual friend of theirs for so long; but at the same time, maybe it was for the best that the world wasn't subjected to their toxic drama early on, and Kotori voices this thought out loud.

"Maybe because she knew we would cause so much trouble together?" Kotori teases.

Umi returns Kotori's smile with one of her own. "Maybe."


End file.
